Auburn soccer has consistently had close matches all season, and Monday at LSU was no different. In the 93rd minute, forward Kori Locksley scored to give Auburn a 1-0 victory over the Tigers from Louisiana.
The goal was set up courtesy of a strong play by Alyssa Malonson at midfield, where she won the ball and beat a defender to pass it to Locksley in front of the net.
“Alyssa took a great touch to beat the defender,” Locksley said after the win. “The defender was really high up on her line and didn’t have any cover. It was two-v-one, me and Hailey. I thought Hailey was going to get it and so I had to take a couple steps back and just get over the ball and put it in the net.”
Locksley’s game-winner was her first goal of the season and the second game-winner of her career, with the first taking place against Tennessee last year.
After finishing the two-game road trip with a 1-1 record, Auburn is guaranteed a first-round bye in the SEC tournament.
“It was a really tough two-game road trip,” head coach Karen Hoppa said. “I thought we had a really good performance at Arkansas, didn’t get the result we wanted, but to see our team rebound today, play some really good soccer, and keep the shutout for over 90 minutes before scoring the goal in overtime. I’m really proud of our team.”
Auburn’s success against the Bayou Bengals isn’t something new for the program.
This win was Auburn's second consecutive over LSU, and the Bayou Bengals haven't scored a goal against Auburn since 2016.
Defensively, Auburn hasn’t just been strong against LSU. This season has been a team reliant on strong defense. The Tigers have three shutouts through six games.
“We’ve been working really hard and just kind of molded into the three back to make it work,” defender M.E. Craven said of the defensive effort. “It was tough in the beginning, but we got it sorted out. We just worked hard to find the forwards and they got it done.”
Now, as Auburn soccer returns home for the Iron Bowl on Friday, the team can breathe a sigh of relief with a first-round bye secured.
“This was huge,” Locksley said. “A goal of ours is to get that bye on Friday the 13th, and we accomplished that. We’re just really happy to get a win.”
Auburn is now 3-1-2 on the season and will play 1-4-2 Alabama at the Auburn Soccer Complex on Friday at 6 p.m. CST.
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